THE RESULTS OF THE THIRD DOLOMITE CONFERENCE ON GLOBAL GOVERNANCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY
The Third Dolomite Conference on Climate Change, held from October 17 to 19, 2024, in the scenic location of Trento, Italy, gathered over 100 participants from around the globe to tackle the pressing issues of global climate governance. Building on the success of previous editions, this year’s conference took place against the backdrop of growing climate urgency, where the gap between scientific data and public opinion is widening.
Only a year since the last edition of the Dolomite Conference, and the feeling is that we are living in a completely different context. The paradox is that the message coming from the data and science and the one conveyed by public opinion and politics seem to diverge more and more.
On one side, "climate fatigue" grips many in the West; on the other, regions like the Global South are facing rapidly intensifying climate consequences. With political and public discourse often at odds with scientific realities, the central question of this year’s conference was clear: How do we re-engage all sectors of society - from local farmers to corporate leaders and citizens of all ages - in the fight for climate resilience and survival?
GLOBAL PARTICIPATION AND REPRESENTATION
The Third Dolomite Conference attracted participants from across the globe, including Africa, China, the Maldives (which leads the federation of small island nations most at risk of disappearing), Canada, Brazil, the Middle East (from Dubai, host of the most recent UN Climate Conference – COP28 – and from Baku, the upcoming COP host in November), India, and the USA. Many attendees represented prominent think tanks, such as CEBRI from Rio, TERI from New Delhi, and INET from the USA.
Bringing together over 100 academics, students from Bocconi University and Politecnico di Milano, entrepreneurs, managers, journalists, and politicians, the Dolomite Conference in Trento was a global event focused on climate change. Participants hailed from countries both driving the green agenda and those with more complex challenges in recent years.
Attendees included agricultural entrepreneurs, executives from leading public companies at the forefront of the green transition, and industry managers facing the pressures of energy transformation. Companies like AXA Italia, with their climate expertise, also played a crucial role in the discussions.
THE CONCEPT OF THE DOLOMITE CONFERENCE
The Dolomite Conference on Climate Change is an annual initiative - here you can find a summary of the 2023 edition - promoted by Vision Think Tank.
This year the very same initiative was organized with the support of Trentino Marketing and the Province of Trento. In addition, the 2024 had as its founding partners AXA Italia and Autostrada del Brennero SpA plus, as its corporate partner, Gruppo Dolomiti Energia.
The Conference managed in bringing together a number of leading scientific partners and institutions worldwide, including Bocconi University,Politecnico of Milan, TERI from New Delhi, CEBRI from Rio de Janeiro, INET from the USA and CHAPTER ZERO, an association that unites board members focused on sustainability
Among the media for this edition there were Al Jazeera – to strengthen the connection with the Global South – Rai Radio1 and TGR. The sessions were chaired by journslists form The Conversation, Al Jazeera, Forbes, and others.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE DOLOMITE CONFERENCE
The Dolomite Conference follows a specific structure that Vision has successfully tested in previous editions as well as with the Siena Conference on the Europe of the Future.
For its third edition, the structure will be revised to include:
- Plenary sessions: dedicated to a selected audience of 100 participants (academics, politicians, journalists, and policymakers), but streamed on our social media channels and those of our media partners. These sessions focus on broad themes outlined in the concept paper prepared by Vision and its scientific partners.
- Problem-setting/problem-solving groups: centered on specific issues based on a concept paper prepared by the Vision team and a group of students from the conference's scientific partner universities. These groups follow the Chatham House Rule, aiming to find concrete solutions to the questions raised in the concept paper.
- Public sessions: open to the public and, more specifically, to the citizens and tourists of Trento, as well as to the media.
The distinguishing features of the Dolomite Conference were the inclusion of younger generations (students from partner universities) throughout the project - from problem definition to resolution - the global scope, the presence of major media, equally important as policymakers, and companies that are essential for unlocking technological progress and steering it toward human needs.
The main output of the Dolomite Conference is Dolomite Manifesto.
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Like the first two editions, the 2024 edition was a three-day meeting - from October 17th to 19th - held in the beautiful location of Trento, close to the Dolomites, one of the symbols in the fight against climate change in Europe.
Vision's idea is tied to the need to promote a change in the approach to the climate crisis, which is now at its breaking point. This requires a radical transformation in the mechanisms and intellectual tools we use to govern global problems (most of which were conceived in a different time).
The goal of the conference was therefore to serve as a catalyst for new ideas (both in terms of governance and projects to pursue) and as a permanent forum to discuss and resolve issues related to climate change and sustainable development. The Conference also represented a pragmatic and informal opportunity before the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) on climate change organized by the United Nations and the G20, where Vision intends to present the proposals that emerged at the Dolomite Conference and are consolidated in the “Dolomite Manifesto”.
This edition involved more than 90 participants in person and 10 online, selected based on a balance of gender, generational, national and professional representation (politicians, journalists, natural and social scientists, managers, entrepreneurs, influencers).
In the 2024 edition, Vision also aimed to strengthen both the connection with international institutions, such as UNESCO and OECD, and with the local territory by organizing public events, in addition to the usual plenary sessions/problem-solving groups, aimed at promoting the local experience of the Dolomites.
Among the key participants of the 2024 edition: Vibha Dhawan (Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute); Rohinton P. Medhora (Chair Governing Board, INET); Chaitanya Giri (Fellow, Centre for Security, Strategy & Technology, Observer Research Foundation, India); Ann Florini (Vice Chair, Climate Democracy Initiative; Vice Chair, Economics of Mutuality Foundation; Fellow, New America); Andrea Hoffmann (Professor at the Institute of International Relations at PUC-Rio, CEBRI); Sharmini Peries (Editor at Institute for New Economic Thinking); Alexandra Borchardt (Co-Director Climate Research Explorer Program at Constructive Institute and Fellow at Reuters Institute at Oxford University); Rosemary Idem (Program Manager Gender and Youth at Sustainable Energy for All); Maurizio Rossini (AD of Trentino Marketing); Aidah Nakku (Climate and Gender Justice Advocate); Diego Cattoni (CEO at Autostrada del Brennero SpA); Letizia D’Abbondanza (Chief Customer AXA Italia); Martin Powell (Head of Sustainability AXA); Stefano Granella (CEO Gruppo Dolomiti Energia); Barbara Kolm (CEO at SDG und ESG Advisory GmbH, Supervisory Board Member at Vienna Insurance Group); Camilla Lunelli (Hed of Communication of Group Lunelli/Ferrari Trento, Head of Sustainability Projetcs); Silvia Stefini (NED at Leonardo and Banca Popolare di Sondrio); Paulina Velasco (Senior Vice President at Velada Consulting); Cliff Prior (CEO at Global Steering Group for Impact Investment); Marcello Milani (Managing Director AMSA); Gioia Ghezzi (Chairperson of ATM MILAN); Abdul Kareem Aouir (Al Jazeera); Carlton Reid (Forbes); Will de Freitas (the Conversation); Joseph Hammond (Writer and Africa Director of Faith for Our Planet); Giancarlo Loquenzi (Rai Radio UNO); Enrico Giovannini (Professor of Economic Statistics at University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italian Former Minister of Labour and Social Policies); Flavio Deflorian (Rector of the University of Trento); Ennio Macchi (Professor at Politecnico di Milano and Advisory at Energy Dome); Carlo Carraro (Former Rector of Ca Foscari, Member of IPCC); Alberto Bramanti (Associate Professor at Bocconi University); Miriam Allena (Associate Professor at Bocconi University); Paolo Silva (Professor at Politecnico di Milano); Giovanni Dotelli (Professor at Politecnico di Milano); Elisabeth Gsottbauer (Endowed Professor at Free University of Bozen-Bolzano); Jesse Scott (Visiting Research Fellow at Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung e.V. (DIW Berlin), Adjunct Professor teaching Policy Strategy & Influencing, Executive Leadership at Hertie School); Mirco Tonin (Professor of Economic Policy at the Free University of Bozen Bolzano and Director of the Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies within the Foundation Bruno Kessler); Rossella Miccio (President of Emergency ONG ONLUS); Kurt Van Dender (Head of the Tax Policy and Statistics Division - Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, OECD); Alessandra Proto (Head of OECD Trento Centre for Local Development); Mara Nemela (Director at Fondazione Dolomiti UNESCO); Achille Spinelli (Councillor for Economic Development, Employment, Universities, and Research); Fabrizia Lapecorella (Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD).
The 2024 edition introduced fresh ideas, amplified the project's influence on the global climate debate and political agendas, while expanding both the size and significance of the conference community.
Additional details
Manifesto and Concept Paper
The Dolomite Conference follows an innovative method for generating concrete, fresh solutions to solve climate change-related problems. The concept paper frames the plenary sessions and poses the questions that the four problem-setting/solving groups will try to solve. These groups will propose specific ideas that Dolomite Conference's participants will develop into proposals. The final Dolomite Manifesto will include those proposals and other recommendations that the project will follow up in the coming months with international organizations (G20;COP...) and in the media.
DOLOMITE MANIFESTO - THIRD EDITION
The Agenda
Live Streaming
Participants
Partners and Sponsors
Media Review
Background Papers
Webinars
Problem Setting / Solving Groups
Podcast
